Tag Archives: Mindful

Do you remember when I talked about gratitude on the blog? I talk about what it meant to me, how and why I first started incorporating it into my daily routine and one of the tools I have used since beginning this practice. Well in today’s post, I’m going to talk more in-depth about the Gratitude Journals from the Itty Bitty Book Co. that I mentioned in that particular blog post.

If you haven’t seen the journals before or you’re not sure how they work, I’ll show you how. It’s a small little paper book that fits nicely in the handbag (I place mine inside my personal sized Filofax) or if you tend to journal and write in the evening, then it’ll sit very nicely on your bedside table.

Firstly, you make a quick little note of what’s currently going on in your life right now. So you could be starting a new project, you could be feeling a particular emotion whether that be positive or negative or maybe you don’t have anything exciting going on, that’s okay too. You can really write anything that provides a little life overview.

This is where you can start to think about your three things that you appreciate and are grateful for. As mentioned in my other blog post, it really can anything; a really good cup of tea, a catch up with a friend, having a nap or going for a run. Being grateful doesn’t have to only happen when big life events happen, you really can use the practice in your day-to-day life.

Every few pages, there is a nice change that pops up when it asks you to list three people you are grateful for. While some people may like sticking to the three things list, I like that it is a change of pace because while you may think of things that you do in your life or opportunities that rise up, how often do we look at the people in our lives and are grateful for them? This change of pace allows us to think beyond the things and to the people in our lives.

Every seventh day, you have an extra page asking you to list some of the best things that happen during the week. Doing this is probably the most pleasurable because you can look back on that week and you might not remember what happened on the Monday, but once you read back, you realise how great the start of the week was for you.

Other little pages that pop up ask you about positive news you have heard recently, where you would consider your happy places and little positive quotes throughout too.

Because it’s essentially a twenty one day challenge (because it takes the average of twenty one days to set a new habit), it asks you at the end of those days, what were some of your best moments? That’s when you can look back on your (almost) month and see what really happened. Did you remember that amazing eight hour sleep you had? Did you remember smashing your personal best on your run? It really is about perspective too and that’s something that I have also gained alongside gratitude.

I used mine every other day to start off with. My reasons behind that were that I have perfectionist traits that crop up and can take over, so the pressure to do it every day and possibly not keep up with it, throws my anxiety very high. I done that for a few months and then I went through a particular bad period (when I could have used the practice to its full potential in all honesty) and I stopped using it. As a perfectionist, I worked very hard not to start a new journal when I stopped using it for a brief few weeks so once I was ready, I used the same one. The only difference was that there was a massive date difference, and I’m proud of myself that I was able to work through that.

So if you’re on the fence about starting a gratitude journals, these little books are great for starting out to see if it’s something for you (Not everything is for everyone, understandably) and I hope my post has given you more insight into the books.

Meanwhile, if you want to purchase some gratitude journals for yourself or a friend, you can find them right here.

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Please note: I am an affiliate for Itty Bitty Book Co. so affiliate links have been in a number of clickable links used throughout.

Happy Sunday everyone! While I’m writing this, it’s such a gorgeous day outside, always a sure fire way of being in a better mood eh? In today’s post I’ll be talking about cleaning your home and mind, habits of grateful people and being more mindful as a non-vegan.

Judging by the weather (most of the time), I’d like to think we’re coming into the Summer and one of my favourite things to do during the Summer is do a massive clean. I know a lot of people like to do a Spring clean (in the Spring of course) but for me, it always goes back to when I was in school and you would have a huge clear out before heading back to school in September. Suzie highlights fifty things that you should remove from your home but also from your personal life, so not only are you cleaning your house but you’re also cleaning your mind, to a certain extent.

If you’ve been reading the blog lately or following me on my social media, you’ll know I have started to get into the practice of gratitude. It’s such an important practice for me especially when my day isn’t going as well as I had hoped it would. Gratefulness brings me back down to earth. That’s what I found so interested about this Hack Spirit blog post about habits of people who are grateful even on the tough days. It’s something we should all take into consideration, both on the good days and the bad.

I prefer to call myself plant based rather than vegan because I’m quite open about not having changed all my clothes, make-up, hair care and skincare over to one hundred percent cruelty free. I really liked the way Steph came across in this post, it’s not preachy or forceful, it’s just giving you a few simple tips on how you can be more mindful when it comes to spending your money on products and perhaps promote a positive change if you can’t commit yourself to being vegan.

Well that’s all for today’s Sunday Saves post. If you’d like to catch up on my other Sunday Saves, you’ll find them here and let me know your thoughts on today’s post, either down below or over on my Twitter!